Fresh New Music

Review: John Mayer's Born and Raised

From some of the lyrics on John Mayer's new album, Born and Raised, you would think the one-time bad boy is trying to get you to like him.

But what he's really doing is learning to like himself. Like he says in the lyrics of "Shadow Days," he's a "good man, with a good heart."

A couple of years ago, Mayer was getting some bad press. He made some relationship mistakes, and said some really stupid, hurtful things in the media. Then he disappeared.

What he did was move to Bozeman, Montana, and like he told Ellen DeGeneres the other day, he did some growing up. He wanted to learn how to be 33 and 34 instead of 28 for a couple more years.

You can tell from the lyrics that this was an introspective time for Mayer. For some artists, that becomes self-indulgent, but in this instance, it works.

The tender melodies and fine finger picking guitar mix well with his message. In "Walt Grace's Submarie Test, 1967" we get the idea that solitude is something that Mayer was learning to enjoy. On "If I Ever Get Around to Living," he sings, "If I ever get around to living, it's gonna be just like I dreamed, I'm gonna take the love I'm giving, and set it free."

If I were living in the mountains of Montana, sitting out on a deck with a nice dog and a lemonade, this would be the perfect album to fit the mood.

The bottom line: If you're looking for Mayer to do some intense shredding on his Stratocaster, you'll be disappointed. But if you're looking for a mellow, comfortable groove, this album is perfect.

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